Bruno Caboclo's Brazil Deals Canada 1st Crucial Loss in FIBA World Cup
It’s officially do-or-die time for Team Canada.
This Canadian Senior Men’s National Team left the door open one too many times in this FIBA World Cup. France gave them an early scare in the first outing. Latvia hung around for a while. Then on Friday, a day that’ll be remembered as ‘Upset Friday,’ Brazil dealt Canada its first loss of the tournament with a shocking 69-65 come-from-behind victory for the South Americans.
It never should have been this close.
Brazil controlled the pace all game. They ground the game to a halt, forcing Canada to play out of tempo. Canada managed to make do for a little while, clamping down on defense in a low-scoring affair. But Brazil wouldn’t go away.
Missed opportunities from Luguentz Dort, RJ Barrett, and even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander down the stretch proved critical for Canada. Ultimately, though, it was lackluster defense by the typically stout Dillon Brooks in the final minute that allowed the 5-foot-10 Yago dos Santos to get into the paint for the game-winning layup.
Canada had plenty of chances to put Brazil away throughout. Twice the Canadians jumped ahead by double digits only to be unable to deal Brazil the final blow.
A three-pointer that left Dort’s hand a split second too late could have been enough for Canada, but a shot-clock violation nullified the bucket as the Canadian offense went silent.
Dort did look good with 17 points off the bench in his return from a two-game absence due to injury. He kept Canada going in the first half with his three-point shot and nailed a driving and-1 layup to stick Canada to a four-point lead. But an ill-advised technical foul after Brazil’s buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter helped Brazil build momentum.
Brazil’s defense on Gilgeous-Alexander kept Canada out of sync in the fourth quarter as the Canadians were forced to run the offense through Kelly Olynyk and Barrett. Gilgeous-Alexander did shake free for a turnaround two-point jumper and responded to a Brazil run with an end-to-end layup that he converted for an and-1. But even a 23-point outing for the Toronto native wasn’t enough.
For Brazil, it was the former Toronto Raptors first-round pick Bruno Caboclo that led the way. He opened the game with a three-pointer that set the tone and then used his size to muscle his way into the paint especially when Canada went small late. He finished the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Now Canada’s attention will turn to Spain in a must-win game to advance to the quarterfinals. Like Canada, the Spaniards were dealt their first loss of the tournament, an upset at the hands of Latvia. A loss Sunday morning would end Canada’s FIBA World Cup dreams and force the team to another dyer last-chance qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
